Chapter 653: The Strange Island
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Random Teleportation Stone, Gaoyang had no idea what specific effects it possessed.
However, Gaoyang knew that since it was given to him by Jiang Liu for the purpose of escape, it would be reliable.
Suspended midair, he realized he was above a vast and boundless ocean, with an island visible in the distance.
After contemplating for a moment, Gaoyang moved towards the direction of the island.
While flying in midair, Gaoyang also opened his friend's page, intending to send a message to Jiang Liu.
But after careful thought, Jiang Liu was probably still fighting with Baosheng Buddha at this moment. Wouldn't sending a message now distract him?
Therefore, after thinking it over, Gaoyang closed the page.
After the battle was over, Jiang Liu would probably send a message to him, right? Better to wait.
After closing the page, he descended from midair and landed directly on the island.
Serenity!
Upon landing on the island, Gaoyang felt an overwhelming sense of tranquility, devoid of any sound except for the waves striking the island's cliffs.
Yet, as soon as Gaoyang had landed, he could sense that the spiritual energy on the island was incredibly dense, even denser than in the Purple Bamboo Forest of Mount Luojia.
This made Gaoyang inwardly marvel at the excellence of this unknown, otherworldly Immortal Island.
"How strange. I remember the Bodhisattva Guanyin speaking of the thirty-six Cave Heavens and seventy-two Blessed Lands. From ancient times till now, each Cave Heaven and Blessed Land was occupied by Immortals and Buddhas. Why is this place so silent?"
Walking on the island, indulging in the extremely dense spiritual energy, Gaoyang whispered to himself.
He walked while observing the surroundings.
The Immortal Island indeed was full of rich spiritual energy, but it also seemed incongruously desolate.
Yes, generally speaking, a Cave Heaven and Blessed Land, if not occupied by divine beings, should at least be teeming with exotic beasts, right? It should definitely bristle with life.
However, this Immortal Island, while rich in spiritual energy, was too barren. There were no people, not even an animal in sight, not to mention insects.
For Gaoyang, an utterly barren Immortal Island presented an odd and peculiar feeling everywhere.
Stepping forward, looking around, the Immortal Island was vast, and the spiritual energy was very dense.
After wandering aimlessly for half an hour and even shouting several times on the island, there was no response at all.
This nearly convinced Gaoyang that this really might be an ownerless deserted island.
"Incredible. Could such an Immortal Island truly be without an owner?" After shouting a few more times and hearing only echoes, Gaoyang was almost certain there was not a single person on the island.
Shortly after, his pace quickened, and he felt a sense of adventure, eager to thoroughly explore the whole island.
Yet, after about a quarter of an hour of walking, suddenly, Gaoyang's footsteps hesitated.
It turned out that ahead on the island, there was a complex of ancient buildings that had a profound, natural feel amidst their primitive simplicity.
"There are buildings? This Immortal Island isn't deserted!?" Gaoyang murmured softly as he looked toward the distant houses.
He walked towards the buildings.
If there were houses, then logically, he should meet the owner, right?
If Jiang Liu used a strange stone to bring him here, maybe the owner would recognize Jiang Liu?
He shouldn't be in any danger here, should he?
With these thoughts, he walked on a little further.
However, as he drew closer, Gaoyang felt even more that something was amiss.
The buildings were indeed ancient, and it seemed that they could accommodate a hundred or so people with no problem. This all indicated the island had an owner.
At least it had an owner in the past.
Why say the past? Because upon entering the buildings, Gaoyang noticed that although there were tables, chairs, and benches—everything necessary—there was a conspicuous absence of people. Not a soul was around.
What stood out the most was an ancient plaque on the roof of the main building. However, so many years had passed that the characters on it were indiscernible.
He could vaguely make out three large characters, with the last character being "Palace".
Unable to recognize it, Gaoyang no longer tried, but instead entered the building to search thoroughly.
The ancient furniture seemed quite ordinary, but it emanated a natural aura.
After inspecting everything, Gaoyang attempted to find clues that might reveal his current location, but despite searching for a long time, he found nothing useful.
However, to say he found nothing at all wouldn't be true either.
After searching through the building, Gaoyang arrived at the rear mountain, where he found an Ancient Pond.
The water of the pond was milky white and full of spiritual energy.
On the mountainside beside the Ancient Pond, there were many symbols inscribed.
Gaoyang was certain he had never studied these symbols, and they were unlike anything he had seen before.
Yet, for some reason, he recognized these symbols as characters upon seeing them.
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Moreover, Gaoyang could understand the meaning of these characters.
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"This is a very strange feeling, this... seems to be a cultivation technique?" After carefully examining the symbols on the mountain wall, Gaoyang murmured softly.
"Green Lotus Taoist Scripture!?"
After reading it once, Gaoyang muttered to himself silently in his heart.
From this cultivation technique, it was a profoundly sophisticated technique, many times more advanced than the one he was currently practicing.
However, from the name of the technique, it seemed to be a text from the Taoist Sect?
Having followed Guanyin Bodhisattva these past days, and practicing only Buddhist Sect cultivation techniques, would there be a conflict if he switched?
After pondering deeply in his heart for a moment, Gaoyang decided to give it a try anyway.
After earnestly memorizing the Green Lotus Taoist Scripture, Gaoyang sat cross-legged by the milky-white ancient pond, settling down and meditating, circulating the cultivation technique from the scripture, and entering meditation.
In the following days, Gaoyang continued to cultivate by the pond.
Drinking from the milky-white pond, Gaoyang surprisingly found the water extremely sweet and even capable of rapidly improving his physique.
"Could this be a mysterious blessing of fate?"
With such a vast pond here and an incredibly profound scripture to study, Gaoyang realized he had come upon a stroke of luck and focused his mind, quietly cultivating.
Although his cultivation was progressing swiftly and the water was improving his physique—all good things—Gaoyang's mood became more and more anxious.
Because after waiting for three days, he had not received any message from Jiang Liu, which made Gaoyang feel uneasy.
After much hesitation, he eventually could not resist sending a message.
Only, there was no reply from Jiang Liu for a long time.
Even when sending a video call, no one answered.
This situation made Gaoyang increasingly anxious. No sign of Jiang Liu for several days? Not even knowing his condition?
No replies to messages, no answers to video calls?
So, after waiting for half a month, although his cultivation was advancing remarkably fast, worried about Jiang Liu, Gaoyang could no longer endure it and flew out, intending to leave the place first.
Of course, he had mentally noted the location of this overseas Immortal Island.
However, no matter where Gaoyang flew, as long as he set out for about two to three days' time, he would discover an island rising from the sea, the very one he had left.
This was frustrating, no matter which direction he flew, after several days, he would return?
After trying for quite a while and knowing he could not leave on his own, Gaoyang even took out a Random Teleportation Stone and activated its ability, hoping to leave.
Yet after using it three times, he found himself randomly appearing above the sea every time.
Then, while flying, he would return again.
After three times like this, Gaoyang understood that it was impossible to leave using the Random Teleportation Stone.
Resigned to his fate, Gaoyang gave up and returned to the edge of the pond to continue cultivating the Green Lotus Taoist Scripture.
He could only hope that the stone was given to him by Jiang Liu and that Jiang Liu would know of this strange place and come to find him later.
With no other choice, Gaoyang shook his head silently.
He immersed his form directly in the milky-white ancient pond, closed his eyes, and quietly cultivated the Green Lotus Taoist Scripture, entering meditation.
…
As for Gaoyang's situation, Jiang Liu naturally had no idea. Jiang Liu and his disciples continued on their Journey to the West, and in the blink of an eye, another two to three months had passed.
Over these two to three months, Jiang Liu had sent hundreds of messages to Gaoyang, but none of them were replied to.
Feeling somewhat restless, during these days, Jiang Liu really couldn't focus on his cultivation, and even his interest in dungeon raids seemed faded.
In the two to three months, the experience points he gained were significantly less than usual, and he still had half of the necessary 1.8 billion experience points to level up to 70.
One day, as the daylight gradually faded, Jiang Liu took out the Exquisite Immortal Mansion and, as usual, they settled inside.
Only, when Monk Sha went to fetch water from the well, he found it had run dry.
"Master, the water in the well is gone. I'll go find some water outside!" Sha Wujing spoke up.
"Wait, Wujing, don't go. Let Bajie go instead!"
Having heard Sha Wujing's words, Jiang Liu shook his head and stopped him.
The last time the simple-minded Monk Sha went searching for water, he had brought the water from the Child-Mother River, an unforgettable incident indeed.
How could he dare let him go again?
"Alright, I'll go then!" Hearing his master's words, Zhu Bajie was somewhat reluctant, but still set out.
Leaving the Exquisite Immortal Mansion and searching for a while, Zhu Bajie's ears subtly twitched.
In the distance, he seemed to hear many crisp female voices, laughing and frolicking?